Wondee's in Hackensack is struggling with one cook and one server

SOME LIKE IT HOT: A half-dozen colorful and flavorful takeout dishes from Wondee's Fine Thai Food and Noodles in Hackensack, including a whole sea bass I'm guessing weighed nearly 2 pounds, below. Four of us ate really well with leftovers.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

The chef at Wondee's in Hackensack pushed open the kitchen door and walked briskly, balancing a freshly prepared dish that was still steaming when she set it down in front of a customer.

It turns out Chef Air-Arisa Katengamkam, who is in her late 20s, was working alone in the kitchen of the popular Thai restaurant on Saturday afternoon with only one server in the dining room.

Wondee's has changed in the many months since the original owner, Chef Wandee Suwangbutra, and husband Tom retired to North Carolina.

But judging from the six takeout dishes I picked up on Saturday, Chef Air-Arisa still is doing a great job with preparation and spicing, and continues to deliver delicious Thai food at moderate prices.

Other areas suffer

I drove over to Wondees around 4 on Saturday afternoon to place my takeout order, because I didn't have a menu.

I last visited the restaurant in January and before that in October and August 2015.

Wynn, the lone server who has worked at Wondee's for many years, greeted me and remarked that he hadn't seen me in ages.

Only a couple of tables were occupied, but he had his hands full. 

After I placed my order, I sat down at a table for two that didn't seem clean, so I moved -- and moved again.

A mat inside the front door looked as if it hadn't been swept recently.

When I went to the men's room, it was clean and had soap and paper napkins, but there was water covering the floor from a leaking toilet tank.

Wondee's was never know for its decor, including a dark-blue carpet that became torn and worn years before it was removed in favor of a refinished wooden floor. 

Now, the improvements Chef Air-Arisa made look dated, the place is almost as shabby as before and the dining room doesn't even look clean.

What does future hold?

I spent about an hour at Wondee's on Saturday afternoon, and when I left around 5, only four tables were occupied.

Still, Chef Air-Arisa and Wynn were having trouble keeping up with orders, and some menu items were not available.

Wynn said a new menu should be delivered in about a week with fewer items than before.

I've enjoyed Wondee's low prices for years, but don't think the restaurant can survive if it continues to charge only $20 for a whole fish weighing nearly 2 pounds or $10 for Pad Thai.

Maybe, Chef Air-Arisa can find a smaller space in Hackensack at less rent than she is paying now or just do takeout until she can hire more staff.

Wondee's opened in 1997 and would celebrate its 20th anniversary next year.

THAI FLAVORS: My plate included, clockwise from top, a spicy and crunchy Som Thum or Green Papaya Salad ($8); Pla Ma Now, a steamed whole fish with chili pepper, garlic and lemon juice ($20); Large Shrimp in sweet-and-sour chili sauce ($17); and Pad Thai, rice noodles with shrimp, egg, bean curd and ground peanuts ($10).

DON'T DUCK: We also enjoyed a Crispy Duck Salad, lower right ($11), and a large Wonton Soup with roast pork and vegetables, not shown ($9), which was enough for three. 

Details

Wondee's Fine Thai Food and Noodles, 296 Main St., Hackensack; 201-883-1700. BYO, parking lot in rear off of Camden Street. Takeout, but no delivery. Open today until 8 p.m. See:

Meet the new chef at Wondee's

Wondee's on Facebook

Spicy soup, salads and restless natives at Wondee's in Hackensack

Pla Lard Prig or Deep-Fried Whole Striped Bass with Sweet and Sour Chili Sauce at Wondee's Fine Thai Restaurant in Hackensack.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

In the year or so since Chef Wandee Suwangbutra and husband Tom retired, there have been big and small changes at their popular Thai restaurant in Hackensack.

The biggest, of course, is Chef Air-Arisa Katengamkan, who was only 28 when she took over the restaurant after training by Wandee's side.

Her arrival wasn't announced, but loyal customers noticed changes in the dining room -- first fresh paint, then a new floor and faux-brick wallpaper.

In November, Wondee's (the restaurant's name is spelled differently than the chef's) began to deliver locally for the first time since opening in 1997, announcing the change on Facebook.

On Saturday night, we drove over for dinner, and noticed some smaller portions and slightly higher prices in what remains a moderately priced menu.

The takeout menu also is new.

Still, given the level of preparation, Wondee's remains the best Thai restaurant in Bergen County, if not all of North Jersey.

Restless customers

But the natives are restless.

At the next table, a woman who said she is a long-time customer complained the pork dish she ordered wasn't available, and she said she didn't plan to return.

The restaurant also was out of coconut water, and when we ordered whole fish, the server said there was no wild sea bass or red snapper, only farmed striped bass.

Vegetarian Yom Rod Pedt, above, and Som Thum, below, two salads we've ordered many times, were served on Saturday in smaller portions, and the former is $1 more than before.

Thome Yum Seafood Soup.

Soup, salad and fish

We started with a spicy Thome Yum Seafood, a soup with shrimp, mussel, squid and bay scallops ($4.50 for small); and two Wonton Soups with roast pork and vegetables (also $4.50)

We shared two wonderful salads, vegetarian Yum Rod Pedt, crispy tofu in a dressing of lime juice and chili paste ($11); and Som Thum, fresh green papaya in a spicy dressing with green beans, peanuts, garlic clove, tomato and dried ground shrimp ($8).

Our whole striped bass was deep fried and served in a sweet-and-sour chili sauce for $20, a little more than before.

Chef Air-Arisa

I ate at Wondee's for years before learning anything about Chef Wandee Suwangbutra during an interview for a 2005 newspaper article about Hackensack restaurants.

She opened Wondee's in 1997 after spending 17 years training cooks for new Thai restaurants in Manhattan.

But the new chef/owner lives her life very publicly on Facebook:

Air-Arisa Katengamkan

Wondee's Facebook page

Details

Wondee's Fine Thai Food and Noodles, 296 Main St., Hackensack; 201-883-1700.

BYO, parking lot in rear, closed Mondays.

A reinvigorated Wondee's, dayboat seafood at Simply Vietnamese

Air-Arisa Katengamkam, 28, is the new chef at Wondee's Fine Thai Food and Noodles, a popular BYO on Main Street in Hackensack. 

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

The new chef at Wondee's in Hackensack continues to spruce up the dining room of the popular Thai restaurant, and turn out the same great food as her predecessor.

In the last 10 years, I've tried only two other Thai restaurants in Bergen County, but I always return to Wondee's, a BYO that has the perfect balance of delicious food and reasonable prices.

Chef Air-Arisa Katengamkam, who trained at the side of Wondee's founder, Chef Wandee Suwangbutra, has mastered all of her specialties, including Ocean of Garlic, a dish of fried seafood paired with a crunchy pickled cabbage salad.

On Saturday, the meat eaters in my family enjoyed a small Wonton Soup with Roast Pork and Vegetables ($3.50), Shrimp Soup with Lemon Juice, Mushrooms and Chili Paste ($4), and an entree of Panang Curry with Pork ($11).

The spicy Shrimp Soup offers classic Thai accents from kaffir lime leaves, galanga (in the ginger family) and lemongrass.

Another change we noticed on Saturday is a new waiter who isn't Thai, a first as far as I know.

At Wondee's, lovers of seafood and fresh garlic rejoice over Ocean of Garlic ($18), which includes shrimp, mussels, squid and bay scallops.

Tod Mun Pla is an appetizer of chewy fried fish cakes served with a ground peanut-and-cucumber chili sauce ($7).

The new chef's version of Som Thum, a fresh, crunchy green papaya salad, includes whole garlic cloves, and a spicy dressing of lemon juice, chili and dried shrimp ($8).

The dining room at Wondee's, a BYO, has received accents of turquoise paint, above and below. Elsewhere, a wall is being prepared for photos.

The menu cover.

Details

Wondee's Fine Thai Food and Noodles, 296 Main St., Hackensack; 201-883-1700. Open for lunch and dinner, closed Mondays.

BYO, free parking in rear off of Camden Street, and metered street parking. Takeout, but no delivery. No American Express cards.

See the chef's Facebook page: 

Air-Arisa Katengamkam

See Wondee's Facebook page:

A tradition of great Thai food

Simply Vietnamese

Eric Morris, 34, is trying to bring more attention to the men and women who land wonderful seafood year-round along 130 miles of New Jersey coastline.

He started a wholesale business, Local 130 Seafood, to supply fresh, dayboat fish to markets and up to a dozen restaurants, including Simply Vietnamese in Tenafly, his hometown.

Two Friday nights ago, I enjoyed an extraordinary steak of Jersey shore big-eye tuna that was seared on both sides and served rare over sauteed bok choy.

The special was priced at an appealing $21.95, including brown rice.

When I spoke to Morris on the phone today, he named the fisherman and the day boat that caught the fish I ate, also called ahi tuna.

Fish supplied by Morris usually is available on weekends at Simply Vietnamese.

Our dinner included two appetizers to share, fresh Green Papaya Salad with Shrimp ($10.95), and Summer Rolls with Shrimp ($8.50).

My wife ordered Pho with Beef Balls, the classic anise-flavored Vietnamese noodle soup with its garnish of bean sprouts, lime wedge and fresh cilantro ($12), a meal in itself. 

We also ordered House Noodle Soup with Ribs to go ($12.50).

At Simply Vietnamese, a special of big-eye tuna steak served rare over sauteed bok choy.

Details

Simply Vietnamese, 1 Highwood Ave., Tenafly; 201-568-7770. BYO, free street parking. 

Web site: Fine Vietnamese cuisine

Local 130 Seafood, Somewhere with Fish, New Jersey shore; 201-665-6113.

Web site: Dayboat fish from American fishermen